Thirty years in New York City's public schools led John Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory schooling does little but teach young people to follow orders like cogs in an industrial machine. With over 100,000 copies in print since its original publication in 2002, this book is collection of essays and speeches and includes a describes the wide-spread impact of the book and Gatto's "guerrilla teaching". John Gatto was a teacher in New York City's public schools for over 30 years and was a New York State Teacher of the Year.

5 out of 5 stars

The most intelligent exposé of schooling.

By
Dave
on
06-09-16

How Children Learn, 50th Anniversary Edition

By:
John Holt

Narrated by:
Matthew Kugler

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
7

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
6

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
6

Fifty years ago John Holt woke the dreary world of educational theory by showing that for small children "learning is as natural as breathing". His brilliant observations are as true today as they were then. Over one million copies were sold worldwide in the decades that followed. Today the theorists are still squabbling, and Holt's wisdom is needed more than ever. As a hero of progressive education and homeschoolers, his time has come again.

The Boy Crisis

By:
Warren Farrell PhD,
John Gray PhD

Narrated by:
Warren Farrell PhD,
John Gray PhD

Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
8

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
7

Story

5 out of 5 stars
7

What is the boy crisis? It's a crisis of education. For the first time in American history, our sons will have less education than their dads. It's a crisis of mental health. As boys become young men, their suicide rates go from equal to girls to six times that of young women. It's a crisis of sexuality. Sex is a minefield for our sons. They're bombarded with mixed messages, afraid of being either too sensitive or not sensitive enough.

Maps of Meaning

By:
Jordan B. Peterson

Narrated by:
Jordan B. Peterson

Length: 30 hrs and 52 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
85

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
75

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
73

From the author of 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos comes a provocative hypothesis that explores the connection between what modern neuropsychology tells us about the brain and what rituals, myths, and religious stories have long narrated. A cutting-edge work that brings together neuropsychology, cognitive science, and Freudian and Jungian approaches to mythology and narrative, Maps of Meaning presents a rich theory that makes the wisdom and meaning of myth accessible to the critical modern mind.

5 out of 5 stars

Don't hesitate. Just buy it.

By
Jonathan
on
13-06-18

The Abolition of Liberty

The Decline of Order and Justice in England

By:
Peter Hitchens

Narrated by:
Peter Hitchens

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
103

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
90

Story

4 out of 5 stars
88

From identification cards to how we protect our property, public debate rages over what our basic human rights are and how they are to be protected. In this trenchant and provocative audiobook, Peter Hitchens sets out to show that popular views of these hotly contested issues - from crime and punishment to so-called 'soft drugs' - are based on mistaken beliefs, massaged figures, and cheap slogans. His powerful and counterintuitive conclusions make challenging listening for those on both the Left and the Right.

3 out of 5 stars

Beautifully read nonsense.

By
Eoghan
on
10-03-18

Free to Learn

By:
Peter Gray

Narrated by:
Dan Woren

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
3

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
3

Story

5 out of 5 stars
3

In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that our children, if free to pursue their own interests through play, will not only learn all they need to know but will do so with energy and passion. Children come into this world burning to learn, equipped with the curiosity, playfulness, and sociability to direct their own education. Yet we have squelched such instincts in a school model originally developed to indoctrinate, not to promote intellectual growth.

Dumbing Us Down

The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

By:
John Taylor Gatto

Narrated by:
Michael Puttonen

Length: 3 hrs and 19 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
17

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
13

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
13

Thirty years in New York City's public schools led John Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory schooling does little but teach young people to follow orders like cogs in an industrial machine. With over 100,000 copies in print since its original publication in 2002, this book is collection of essays and speeches and includes a describes the wide-spread impact of the book and Gatto's "guerrilla teaching". John Gatto was a teacher in New York City's public schools for over 30 years and was a New York State Teacher of the Year.

5 out of 5 stars

The most intelligent exposé of schooling.

By
Dave
on
06-09-16

How Children Learn, 50th Anniversary Edition

By:
John Holt

Narrated by:
Matthew Kugler

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
7

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
6

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
6

Fifty years ago John Holt woke the dreary world of educational theory by showing that for small children "learning is as natural as breathing". His brilliant observations are as true today as they were then. Over one million copies were sold worldwide in the decades that followed. Today the theorists are still squabbling, and Holt's wisdom is needed more than ever. As a hero of progressive education and homeschoolers, his time has come again.

The Boy Crisis

By:
Warren Farrell PhD,
John Gray PhD

Narrated by:
Warren Farrell PhD,
John Gray PhD

Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
8

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
7

Story

5 out of 5 stars
7

What is the boy crisis? It's a crisis of education. For the first time in American history, our sons will have less education than their dads. It's a crisis of mental health. As boys become young men, their suicide rates go from equal to girls to six times that of young women. It's a crisis of sexuality. Sex is a minefield for our sons. They're bombarded with mixed messages, afraid of being either too sensitive or not sensitive enough.

Maps of Meaning

By:
Jordan B. Peterson

Narrated by:
Jordan B. Peterson

Length: 30 hrs and 52 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
85

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
75

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
73

From the author of 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos comes a provocative hypothesis that explores the connection between what modern neuropsychology tells us about the brain and what rituals, myths, and religious stories have long narrated. A cutting-edge work that brings together neuropsychology, cognitive science, and Freudian and Jungian approaches to mythology and narrative, Maps of Meaning presents a rich theory that makes the wisdom and meaning of myth accessible to the critical modern mind.

5 out of 5 stars

Don't hesitate. Just buy it.

By
Jonathan
on
13-06-18

The Abolition of Liberty

The Decline of Order and Justice in England

By:
Peter Hitchens

Narrated by:
Peter Hitchens

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
103

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
90

Story

4 out of 5 stars
88

From identification cards to how we protect our property, public debate rages over what our basic human rights are and how they are to be protected. In this trenchant and provocative audiobook, Peter Hitchens sets out to show that popular views of these hotly contested issues - from crime and punishment to so-called 'soft drugs' - are based on mistaken beliefs, massaged figures, and cheap slogans. His powerful and counterintuitive conclusions make challenging listening for those on both the Left and the Right.

3 out of 5 stars

Beautifully read nonsense.

By
Eoghan
on
10-03-18

Free to Learn

By:
Peter Gray

Narrated by:
Dan Woren

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
3

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
3

Story

5 out of 5 stars
3

In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that our children, if free to pursue their own interests through play, will not only learn all they need to know but will do so with energy and passion. Children come into this world burning to learn, equipped with the curiosity, playfulness, and sociability to direct their own education. Yet we have squelched such instincts in a school model originally developed to indoctrinate, not to promote intellectual growth.

The Great Leveler

Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century

By:
Walter Scheidel

Narrated by:
Joel Richards

Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
14

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
13

Story

4 out of 5 stars
13

Are mass violence and catastrophes the only forces that can seriously decrease economic inequality? To judge by thousands of years of history, the answer is yes. Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, Walter Scheidel shows that inequality never dies peacefully. Inequality declines when carnage and disaster strike and increases when peace and stability return.
The Great Leveler is the first book to chart the crucial role of violent shocks in reducing inequality over the full sweep of human history around the world.

3 out of 5 stars

Looked very promising but then disappointing

By
Ras
on
28-11-17

The Element

How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

By:
Ken Robinson Ph.D.

Narrated by:
Ken Robinson Ph. D.,
Lou Aronica

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
260

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
195

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
192

The Element shows the vital need to enhance creativity and innovation by thinking differently about human resources and imagination. It is an essential strategy for transforming education, business, and communities to meet the challenges of living and succeeding in the 21st century.

5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

By
Conrad
on
27-05-12

The Well-Trained Mind

A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition)

By:
Susan Wise Bauer,
Jessie Wise

Narrated by:
Suzanne Toren

Length: 24 hrs and 53 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
6

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
5

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
5

The Well-Trained Mind will instruct you, step by step, on how to give your child an academically rigorous, comprehensive education from preschool through high school - one that will train him or her to read, to think, to understand, to be well-rounded and curious about learning

5 out of 5 stars

A tome made accessible

By
Amazon Customer
on
27-05-15

The Righteous Mind

Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

By:
Jonathan Haidt

Narrated by:
Jonathan Haidt

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
313

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
266

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
260

In
The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and points the way forward to mutual understanding. His starting point is moral intuition - the nearly instantaneous perceptions we all have about other people and the things they do. These intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently are wrong. Haidt shows us how these intuitions differ across cultures, including the cultures of the political left and right.

4 out of 5 stars

Good Book

By
Mr
on
08-07-13

The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government

By:
David Talbot

Narrated by:
Peter Altschuler

Length: 25 hrs and 23 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
38

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
32

Story

5 out of 5 stars
32

Based on explosive new evidence, best-selling author David Talbot tells America's greatest untold story: the United States' rise to world dominance under the guile of Allen Welsh Dulles, the longest-serving director of the CIA. The book draws on revelatory new materials - including exclusive interviews with the children of prominent CIA officials, the personal correspondence and journals of Allen Dulles' wife and mistress, newly discovered US government documents, and US and European intelligence sources.

5 out of 5 stars

intetesting

By
Mr
on
21-02-18

The Creature from Jekyll Island

A Second Look at the Federal Reserve

By:
G. Edward Griffin

Narrated by:
Mark Bramhall

Length: 24 hrs and 21 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
97

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
86

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
86

This classic expose of the Fed has become one of the best-selling books in its category of all time. Where does money come from? Where does it go? Who makes it? The money magician's secrets are unveiled. Here is a close look at their mirrors and smoke machines, the pulleys, cogs, and wheels that create the grand illusion called money. A boring subject? Just wait. You'll be hooked in five minutes. It reads like a detective story - which it really is, but it's all true.

5 out of 5 stars

Money=Debt. Debt=Money. If Debt =0 Money =0MG

By
DRMM
on
24-08-15

Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills

By:
Steven Novella,
The Great Courses

Narrated by:
Steven Novella

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Original Recording

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
519

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
455

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
433

No skill is more important in today's world than being able to think about, understand, and act on information in an effective and responsible way. What's more, at no point in human history have we had access to so much information, with such relative ease, as we do in the 21st century. But because misinformation out there has increased as well, critical thinking is more important than ever. These 24 rewarding lectures equip you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a savvier, sharper critical thinker in your professional and personal life.

4 out of 5 stars

Excellent but listen like a true sceptic

By
Peter
on
22-03-16

How We Learn

By:
Benedict Carey

Narrated by:
Jeff Harding

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
145

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
120

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
119

In the tradition of
The Power of Habit and
Thinking, Fast and Slow comes a practical, playful, and endlessly fascinating guide to what we really know about learning and memory today - and how we can apply it to our own lives. From an early age, it is drilled into our heads: Restlessness, distraction, and ignorance are the enemies of success.

5 out of 5 stars

Very informative

By
Ms A A
on
25-05-15

Memories, Dreams, Reflections

By:
C. G. Jung

Narrated by:
James Cameron Stewart

Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
312

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
279

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
281

In 1957, four years before his death, Carl Gustav Jung, psychiatrist and psychologist, began writing his life story. But what started as an exercise in autobiography soon morphed into an altogether more profound undertaking.

5 out of 5 stars

'Two souls in his breast'

By
Rachel Redford
on
06-06-16

Black Rednecks and White Liberals

By:
Thomas Sowell

Narrated by:
Hugh Mann

Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
109

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
93

Story

5 out of 5 stars
92

This explosive new audiobook challenges many of the long-held assumptions about blacks, about Jews, about Germans and Nazis, about slavery, and about education. Plainly written, powerfully reasoned, and backed with a startling array of documented facts,
Black Rednecks and White Liberals takes on the trendy intellectuals of our times as well as historic interpreters of American life.

4 out of 5 stars

Really interesting

By
Adam Buckler
on
23-07-16

The Vision of the Anointed

Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy

By:
Thomas Sowell

Narrated by:
Tom Weiner

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
34

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
31

Story

5 out of 5 stars
31

In this devastating critique of the mindset behind the failed social policies of the past thirty years, Thomas Sowell sees what has happened not as a series of isolated mistakes, but as a logical consequence of a vision whose defects have led to disasters in education, crime, family disintegration, and more.

5 out of 5 stars

the most important book you'll ever read

By
ithinkthecatisill
on
09-08-16

The Essential Chomsky

By:
Noam Chomsky,
Anthony Arnove (editor)

Narrated by:
Kevin Stillwell

Length: 22 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
89

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
77

Story

4 out of 5 stars
76

In a single volume, the seminal writings of the world's leading philosopher, linguist, and critic, published to coincide with his 80th birthday. For the past 40 years Noam Chomsky's writings on politics and language have established him as a preeminent public intellectual and as one of the most original and wide-ranging political and social critics of our time. Among the seminal figures in linguistic theory over the past century, since the 1960s Chomsky has also secured a place as perhaps the leading dissident voice in the United States.

5 out of 5 stars

Illuminating and exceptional

By
Sab London
on
10-02-16

Summary

John Taylor Gatto's Weapons of Mass Instruction focuses on mechanisms of traditional education which cripple imagination, discourage critical thinking, and create a false view of learning as a byproduct of rote-memorization drills. Gatto's earlier book, Dumbing Us Down, introduced the now-famous expression of the title into the common vernacular. Weapons of Mass Instruction adds another chilling metaphor to the brief against conventional schooling.

Gatto demonstrates that the harm school inflicts is rational and deliberate. The real function of pedagogy, he argues, is to render the common population manageable. To that end, young people must be conditioned to rely upon experts, to remain divided from natural alliances and to accept disconnections from their own lived experiences. They must at all costs be discouraged from developing self-reliance and independence.

Escaping this trap requires a strategy Gatto calls "open source learning" which imposes no artificial divisions between learning and life. Through this alternative approach our children can avoid being indoctrinated-only then can they achieve self-knowledge, good judgment, and courage.

Critic reviews

"John Taylor Gatto has been a hero of mine for years. He has the courage to challenge an education system that is obsolete and out of touch with reality. Years ago, he gave me the courage to speak out and write my books. I trust this book will give you the courage to speak out." (Robert Kiyosaki, author of
Rich Dad, Poor Dad)

"For over 20 years John Taylor Gatto has been working tirelessly to teach us the truth about our education system - that compulsory schooling does not work to foster a democratic way of life!" (Mary Leue, Founder of the Albany Free School)

"All of Gatto's words shine. Let's have Gatto as US Secretary of Education and then, this time, he can blow it all up!" (George Meegan, author of
The Longest Walk and world record holder, longest unbroken march in human history)

Another Brick in the Wall

Mr. Gatto shows clearly the difference between true education and school industry and disclose the establishment and its interests behind the money making billion of dollar biz and the related class system.Meanwhile, the control is global and it needs much more for changes than the rejection of the standard tests by students. His own three school cases experience in chapter 11 telling us that neither the politics nor the media will support the truth and isolate or terminate anybody provoking or fighting this system.Quid est Catulle?

Sort by:

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Nicole

21-05-15

I will never see school the same

I loved this book. As a parent of 3 children, one a model student, one a jokester and one who really struggled academically, I know first-hand that one size fits all education is detrimental to the ones who it doesn't fit. I worked hard to protect my children's individuality and not allow it to be standardized. I couldn't wrap those words around it while it was going on but the mamabear inside me rose up and defended what needed defending and I did the best I could. I only wish I had read this book while they were still in school or even before they got there. READ IT!! RESEARCH WHAT HE CLAIMS...and make your own decisions on how you handle the "experts" who will try to mold your children. There are fantastic teachers who want only the best for your children and it will line up with what you desire as well but when you don't see eye to eye with your children's teachers or school, remember that YOU know your child best and you should advocate for what you think is best. I'm so grateful that new models of schooling are popping up and I hope to see an end to standardized testing in my lifetime. If you are considering homeschooling or unschooling, READ THIS BOOK!!!

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Alan

20-09-13

Makes you think

This book does a great job of presenting an alternative view of our education system. The author causes the listener really think about what they learned or did not learn in school.

If you have ever wondered why education does not improve considering all the money the government throws at it....this book is for you.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

zack

21-06-15

Rich in historical context and experience

Good book for any one looking for a nice overview yet plenty intricate details to leave you wanting to learn even more.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

robert hall

24-03-15

Latest missing scroll of our era, no equivalent

Awesome! Life changing masterpiece, thanks SIR. This should be legal evidence against the government school system.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

David

10-03-15

This book changed my life

What an amazing case against the school system. I live in China, where the testing regime is even worse in many ways. I agree with the author. Inasmuch as learning happens in schools, it does so in spite of the system, not because of it. Education has to be better than this, and I'll do everything in my power as a teacher and father to improve it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Mike

16-01-15

every parent needs to read

John Taylor Gatto is truly a hero of our time his experience and knowledge is remarkable. he helps to understand the faults of modern compulsory schooling as though purposeful, and helps through his own experience to understand how to combat this weapon against the masses.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Carl Skouson Freestone

18-03-16

great book

reading this book has given me much confidence in areas that I have questioned all throughout my growing up years as well as the growing up years of my children.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

pamela

25-02-16

Loved this Book!

Enriching historically. Extraordinary writing as though we as the readers are sharing a private day with a brilliant and loving scholar. Highly recommend. Narrated beautifully. Will listen to this again.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Peter

27-09-15

An inspiration

This is a life changing read and should be compulsory for politicians and educational administrators everywhere. Even if just to show them that there is an alternative perspective!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

M. B. Fishpaw

26-07-15

John Gatto knows!!!

This is an excellent listen, I only wish that John could have read it himself (sans his stroke) yet the narrator does an excellent job himself. Now we have Common Core in most states. My granddaughter's are taught this way & it frightens me so much! If I can say anything in regard to CC it would be "I'd prefer them not to!"